DULUTH, Minn. -- The Augustana Vikings took down No. 16 Minnesota Duluth in Duluth, Minnesota, on Saturday afternoon, winning in four sets (25-23, 23-25, 25-16, 26-24).
Augustana moves to 6-4 on the season and 1-1 in the conference while Minnesota Duluth holds a record of 7-3 and 0-2 in the loop.
For the second time this weekend, junior Maddy Guetter garnered 20kills in a match, having her career-high Friday against St. Cloud State, accumulating 21 kills and racking up 20 kills today.
"I am really proud of the grit we showed today," head coach Jennifer Jacobs said. "Everyone knows that getting a win on the road in the NSIC is hard to do.
"Today the team dug in and pushed through when we needed it the most."
Augustana had a tall task at hand entering the Romano Gymnasium and the Vikings rose to the occasion.
The Vikings had a two-point cushion at 20-18 in the first set, before the Bulldogs put together a four-point run to switch the lead into its favor. Augustana then had a four-point run of its own, with Guetter accumulating three kills in that span, to give the Vikings a 24-22 edge.
An error by the Bulldogs cost them the first set, 25-23.
Despite leading the majority of the set second, UMD crawled its way back into the set by scoring the final two points after being tied at 23-all to grant the Bulldogs the second set, 25-23.
Augustana's most convincing win came at the right time, with the third set having fourteen Viking kills, almost outscoring the Bulldogs points in the set, winning in 25-16 fashion.
A kill by Kate Reimann gave Augustana a one-point lead at 14-13, after that point, the Vikings began to take control of the set.
The set was basically decided after Callie Hohenhaus and Avery Thorson accumulated two block assists in back-to-back plays to give the Vikings a 20-14 lead, ultimately forcing the Bulldogs to take a timeout.
For the second time this weekend, freshman Jolie Stecher garnered the final kill to win a set, this time to claim the third set at 25-16.
The Vikings were in the driver's set heading into the fourth set, and surely didn't want to have back-to-back five set matches.
Augustana had its biggest deficit at 12-9 in the fourth set and was able to find an equalizer, causing three-consecutive Bulldog errors to put the set at 12-all.
Minnesota Duluth put together a strong run late in the fourth set, scoring six-straight points to give the Bulldogs a four-point cushion at 21-17.
The two teams traded points but the Vikings were still down at 24-21, seemingly looking to go to five sets.
It was at that point that Augustana's grit became a factor, the Vikings scored five-straight points to steal the set and upset the No. 16 Bulldogs.
Augustana was led by Guetter with 20 kills, Thorson had 39 assists and Bute with 20 digs.
The Bulldogs were led by Cianna Selbitschka, Madison Gordon had 43 assists and Kate Berg garnered 18 digs.
Up Next
The Vikings return to the road Tuesday to face No. 8 Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall, Minnesota, with a match time slated for 6 p.m. The Vikings will have its home opener on Friday, hosting Bemidji State with the match starting at 6 p.m.
--GoAugie.com--
